Light-up Pumpkin Craft
Posted on October 24, 2013
halloween
Pumpkin Craft – Funnermother
kids activities
Pumpkin Craft – Funnermother
Thing 2 had a play date. ALL they do is play and laugh and whisper and giggle.
It’s awesome.
But we did have a quick structured craft activity.
You’ll need:
clean clear jars for everyone, poster paint, white glue, paintbrushes, and a tea light for each jar. At this age, battery operated.
Halloween craft
Pumpkin Craft – Funnermother
Mix orange poster paint and glue to make the paint adhere to smooth surfaces like glass and plastic – about 1/3 of this bowl is glue.
Paint a jar.
They are 6 and used glass with close supervision;
younger kids should use plastic.
This craft could be adapted for older kids, too,
who could paint more elaborate spooky scenes and use real tea lights if you are so inclined.
Halloween
Pumpkin Craft – Funnermother.
Let the first layer of paint dry.
Use black poster paint to paint your
Jack-o-Lantern’s face.
Halloween
Pumpkin Craft – Funnermother
The second layer of paint adhered to the first,so we didn’t use glue for the second layer.
Then, and this is my favorite part, put in a battery-operated tea light!
No messy pumpkin guts, but still fun and festive!
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Saturday, November 2, 2013
Saturday, October 19, 2013
DIY fairy castle in the clouds – a day of play!
Fairy cloud castle – Funnermother
Apologies for the accidentally rude shapes of our cloud castle. ahem.
We never outgrow sensory play!
Babies, preschoolers, little kids… they love it!
Cloud fairy castle – Funnermother.
I try to keep it going for my kids, 6 and 10.
The older kid cooks in the kitchen, the younger needs bigger-kid ideas, with some narrative. So.
fairy castle – Funnermother
We got dad’s shaving cream, which smells great and feels…smushy.
I made some castle turrets (!!) with shaving cream; we added fairies. It was as good for me as it was for her!
Cloud fairy castle – Funnermother
We added friends of different sizes, and ..
we put them to bed!
If you follow Funnermother on Facebook or know me in person, you know about my legendary insomnia.
fairy cloud castle – Funnermother
Sleeping on a cloud has become one of my go-to images for trying to sleep.
Think about sleeping on a puffy cloud, look at her laying there, smell her all wrapped up in yum.
Fairy cloud castle – Funnermother
Girlfriends came over, they had a slumber party.
Next time you can’t sleep, remember the fairy cloud castle slumber party.
You’ll be glad you did!
Bag of Paint – write & wipe
Bag of Paint – Funnermother
It was a crazy idea – from a dear friend. A mess-averse friend.
Bag of Paint – Funnermother
It was fun!
Thing 2 and I put her paint in double-zip plastic bags.
Bag of Paint – Funnermother
We spread it around.
Bag of Paint – Funnermother
We made a few different colors.
We poked them.
Bag of Paint – Funnermother
Then we played tic tac toe.
Bag of Paint – Funnermother
A million times.
Outsider art
Outsider art – Funnermother
Outdoor play is great, of course.
But what if
the outside is not just a backdrop for play?
Outsider art – Funnermother
What if?
We interact with it.
Bring it in. Study it. Draw it.
We did just that at a play date at our local conservatory & botanical garden.
Outsider art – Funnermother
No running around inside.
We brought art supplies and paper and set the kids free outside, on the garden grounds.
Outsider art – Funnermother
They knew just what to do,
and were engaged for
an hour, focusing and moving
and focusing again.
Outsider art – Funnermother
They were absorbed
and
they knew just what to do.
Jumping off the helicopter
Jumping out of the helicopter – Funnermother
I have been a proud helicopter parent: 3 months in intensive care, 2 brain bleeds, and a little over 1 lb. It just takes one doctor saying “your vigilance has paid off.”
Then one angel child and finally Thing 2. Now ten years have passed. It is time to back off and let Thing 1 build his own armor. And start early with Thing 2. My first step was to LEARN some coping skills to teach them.
Jumping off the helicopter – Funnermother
Three Plan-Ahead Coping Tricks:
1. Rock in the pocket to remind them of the long evolution of the planet, of the rock solid love of the family. Kiss it and that is their pocket kiss. Long noisy kisses are good for a laugh.
2. Months turned into years of wearing scarves to work, primarily so that my children could take them off me when I said goodbye at daycare and keep them, sleep with them, or stash them in their cubbies. My business card and driver’s license also worked if I forgot the scarf. Taking my headrag scarf made it extra fun!
3. Read books about it: first day of school, moving, getting a pet. Describing what you think is coming helps a great deal: the trip, a funeral, the hospital. Talk about what it will look, sound, feel like. Sometimes my social stories move to the ridiculous in search of a laugh: we move near Nanny and she sneaks into our house one day and uses all the legos to make a swimming pool. No, but we will have Sunday dinner with her.
What works for your family? Please leave a comment and we will grow the list together.
My Big Fan – caught on film!
My biggest fan, caught on film! – Funnermother
I think they LIKE my nutty ideas,
actually.
We got Thing 2′s paints
and
a giant 25.00 fan from
My biggest fan – captured on film! – Funnermother
some cheapie store.
My biggest fan – caught on film! – Funnermother
Thing 2′s face was completely
LIT UP!!
I was appealing to her
appetite for 6-year-old mischief.
Hugely.
I wasn’t even sure what would happen.
We opted out of green and indigo,
but
followed the ROY G BIV convention as closely as we could.
We were DELIGHTED with the launch, which resulted in rainbow-like throbbing colors as you’ll see in this YouTube video:
The other part we loved: fan blades were not completely dry and the rim got paint-splattered! :)
Freestyle recycling
Freestyle Recycle – Funnermother
We recycle. Madly.
Cardboard, plastic, cans. Like everyone. It ships out.
But also clothes, fabric, found items for repurposing (some say “trash”), tissue paper, every last sticker. This stuff sticks around.
Freestyle Recycle – Funnermother
One day we pulled out the recycling and that’s not new.
But usually I have some plan: make a space ship and we’ll spray paint it, or a robot, or a jetpack. This day was a free-for-all. Thing 1 (10) made a Shakespearean stage (that’s not me, that’s his awesome school) and a blue monster. Thing 2 (6) made an “I love cats” bank where she planned to collect money for the local shelter (that might have been me). Try freestyle recycling at your house! But be warned..there might be a side effect…. h h hoarding. NO! I did not say that!
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